Somalia, 02 October 2025 – The Somali government is reassessing the future of the concession contract for Mogadishu’s Aden Adde International Airport, managed since 2013 by the Turkish company Favori LLC, as the agreement approaches its 2028 expiry.
Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre, who has visited the airport twice in the past two weeks, on Wednesday ordered Favori to fix the air conditioning system after his earlier directive on repairing and upgrading the airport’s restrooms was implemented.
“Within one week, the air conditioning system at Aden Adde Airport must be fixed,” the Prime Minister declared during his tour of the airport.
The timing of the Prime Minister’s repeated inspections has been widely interpreted as a sign of the government’s dissatisfaction with how the company is managing the facility.
Under the original 2013 contract, Favori retained the majority share of airport revenue, with Somalia receiving just 25%.
However, following a renegotiation in July 2019, Somalia’s share of net revenue (after operating expenses) rose to approximately 55%, effectively giving Somalia around 60% of the total when combined with direct costs, according to the Cabinet resolution approving the amendment.
Despite this, the Office of the Auditor General has, for two consecutive years, criticized the deal for financial opacity, noting the absence of verified records detailing the airport’s total income and Somalia’s exact share.
Favori, which also manages other international airports including Kabul in Afghanistan, has been accused of failing to provide transparent, verifiable financial statements on revenue and its distribution.
Talks over whether to renew or amend the concession are ongoing, but the issue has become politically charged. For example, while another Turkish company, Albayrak, continues to manage Mogadishu Port, Prime Minister Hamza has yet to make a public visit there.
On 17 September this year, the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation announced it was seeking a new contractor specifically for airport cleaning services, a move seen as an attempt by the government to push for greater accountability and efficiency.
With public trust at stake and the contract entering a critical phase, Somalia now faces a tough choice: whether to renew Favori’s concession, impose stricter transparency conditions, or shift towards a new domestic management model.